stealth cleaning

[dragonlady7]

So... cooking and cleaning and attempting to formulate a novel. (Have I talked about the novel here? Oh yes, i have. Check it out, i'm one of those senile old ladies now who repeats herself. Can't wait until I'm actually old and senile... I'll be utterly intolerable.)

Does anyone know anything about the South Beach Diet or whatever it's called? Dave's mom is sort of non-intensively on it, in that she used it to get herself into better shape and now is just sorta maintaining by following its guidelines. (She gave the book away already.)
All I know is that it's sorta low-fat, and not exactly low-carb but sort of. (Shrug.) Basically, you don't eat anything stupid, is all I can figure out.

The way things are working out around here (since I'm living in dave's mom's house with him) is that Dave's mom cooks on Mondays, Dave and I worry about Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and she goes out Wednesdays (and possibly other nights) with her buddies. It strikes me as fair that I buy the groceries, since I'm not exactly contributing much to this household besides a whole lot of clutter. Dave's going to school Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, in the evenings (but in Rochester, 60 miles' drive away, so by "evenings" I mean the entire evening). So I'm thinking we'll feed him his big "dinner" for lunch, and send him with a packed lunch for dinner. No biggie so far.

But, if I'm cooking for Dave's mom, I don't want to feed her anything ridiculously off her diet. (Check it out, Mrs. K! We're having bacon and salt pork, with a side of lard-soaked bread! Dive in!) Also, I'm trying not to let buffalo's excellent food blow me up like a balloon. (Just, y'know, I can't afford to replace all my clothes. Being a Human Whale wouldn't be so bad, it's just the fashion choices are so limiting.)

I was thinking of a cold tuna macaroni salad for tomorrow or the night after, but I don't really know how that is, nutritionally...
So if anybody's got any good suggestions, now would be an opportune time to suggest them. I would be grateful.

Mondays are good days-- last night Dave's mom cooked for her first night, and she made stuffed peppers. I'd never had them before. So good!
Tonight I'm doing a salad with italian dressing, with cold grilled Italian-dressing-marinated chicken on it. I made one and sent it with Dave for his supper during the break of his 4-hour class. So supper's all ready, i just have to put the chicken and dressing on it. (I even did the dishes. See what living with one's not-mother-in-law will do for even a slob?)

I also cleaned house today-- laundry for Dave and me, plus dusted, swept, and mopped the living room. It wasn't dirty, it just hadn't been dusted in ages, so I thought that was something surreptitious I could do to subtly be helpful. Also, Dave's been having some allergy problems, and I thought maybe the bucket of cat hair I got out from under the coffee table and sofa might trouble him less if it were somewhere else, like the garbage.
Tomorrow I'll probably surreptitiously vacuum the stairs-- I discovered the vacuum in my perambulations. I also might wash the throw rugs, and the dog's blanket. Just to make myself useful and give myself time to digest the seven books I just read at top speed. (Moderation? What?)

The lawn got treated for pesticides, too, so I'm afraid to let the dog out. i already took her for one walk so she could poop. I'm reluctant to take her for another because she gets so excited and spends about five minutes sniffing each tree, and y'know, it's 90 out and I don't want to be standing on the other end of a leash forever.
So, she'll have to hold it. She just went a few hours ago anyway. I don't know how long she has to stay off the grass. I can't imagine what people without enclosed back yards do.